Novelist Explores Isolation and Identity of Maghrebian Women in France

Published by Fayard, "Alone" tells the story of two Maghrebian women: Nora, a Parisian in her thirties, and Anissa at the age of adolescence, who lives in Argenteuil, both from Moroccan parents who left Casablanca and Tangier in the 1970s-1980s to settle in France. "I chose the title ’Alone’ because in their lives each one endures her drama alone and they both go through a bit of specific violence. Anissa is a victim of cyberbullying that ends in tragedy. And Nora is in a very violent couple relationship. Not physical, but psychological. It’s a bit taboo, because we have trouble understanding that there are also non-physical forms of violence, such as manipulation, insults, intimidation...," explains Nesrine Slaoui, during the presentation of "Alone" at the Café La Galerie of the hotel as part of the "Literary Stopover/Book Club", the result of a collaboration between Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses and the "Le Matin" group.

For the author, being a Maghrebian woman in France is "a very particular identity for this woman". "It’s the fact of not finding her place neither in France nor in Morocco. She goes through a life full of discrimination, while also experiencing sexist things like all women, through their relationship with men," says Nesrine Slaoui. She also looked at the relationship of a Maghrebian girl with her father in France. "I also wanted to talk about father-daughter relationships, knowing that many dads are wondering about the education of their daughters in this world and how to educate boys so that violence stops. I think there is a lot of violence inherited from colonization, with suffering that is passed down from generation to generation, but which remains taboo," she explains.

Nesrine’s participation in the White March in tribute to Anisha from Argenteuil, killed by a classmate by pushing her into the Seine, sparked the journalist’s interest in writing "Alone". "This story had really marked me and alerted me to several things that needed to be said. Especially since I prefer to make books that do a bit of awareness-raising about violence and discrimination."